Moryde Stair Fail

[Herk7769]

Heard a loud noise while stopped at toll booth to get my ticket for the Kansas Turnpike. Worried about it for a few miles and stopped for gas at the first opportunity.

Quick scan showed running gear all good. When DW went to open the camper to use the Loo, she about got conked on the head by the folding stairs.

The lower dual strut swivel had snapped off. My guess was the two struts hitting the floor was the noise I heard.

Some roadside repair was needed to get it closed again. The inboard strut kept keeping the ladder from fully retracting.

Quick call to Flagstaff, but they were closed. I have no doubt with a little coordination on Monday, the part I need will be waiting for me at the Grand Canyon Campground next week.

[dblr]

That stinks but just glad Laura did not receive the CONK on the head!!!!!

[rracer5]

Originally Posted by dblr

That stinks but just glad Laura did not receive the CONK on the head!!!!!

That's exactly why my DW won't upgrade our RV steps. She says her luck, she'll be the one opening the door and the steps will fall on her!

Her luck? Although, she has fallen OUT of the RV off the old style steps. Lucky she landed on a full trash bag sitting at the bottom of the steps so, only a minor knee scrape. I however, was retrieving trash for the next 5 minutes.

Glad Laura is OK, she's been through enough!

[Herk7769]

I have done some detective work on the steps.

If you try to use the steps without making sure the feet are perfectly adjusted to whatever the surface angle you are parked on, ALL of a person's weight is on the strut ball threads. Its a perfect shear.

NOT saying she did that; just its possible that's how it happened.

[Herk7769]

A simple repair when this happens. The hard part is you need to work from inside the camper with the ladder in the upright position.


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This is the part that sheared. Good to carry spares.

Herk

[itat]

Thanks for posting that, Herk.

We finally had a chance to take our new Rockwood 5er out for a one night shake down on Saturday and quickly realized that setting up the steps is a bit finicky. I decided that the best way to set them up is to pull the pins securing the legs/feet, retract the legs, put the steps down so that the threshold is flush (so the screen door will close) and let the legs drop to the ground and then set the pins in.

Do you think even that would be too much weight on the strut ball threads?

[Herk7769]

Never put weight on the stair without the legs being in firm contact with the ground.

[itat]

Originally Posted by Herk7769

Never put weight on the stair without the legs being in firm contact with the ground.

So you think even just their own weight would put too much stress on those strut ball posts?

[Herk7769]

No, their own weight is no problem.

Add a hundred plus pounds by stepping on it unsupported, and there is the problem.

[itat]

Originally Posted by Herk7769

No, their own weight is no problem.

Add a hundred plus pounds by stepping on it unsupported, and there is the problem.

Thanks. I wouldn't do that intentionally.

I've put that ball stud kit on my Amazon.com wishlist for a future cross-border shopping trip. That US$12 kit will probably cost me CAD$35 by the time I bring it back across the border but Amazon.ca wants CAD$55.58 for that kit!

[itat]

Well, I just had mine do the same thing this afternoon. I ordered the same 4-pack from Amazon.com. Cost to ship it up here is $20 since I need it quickly to get it fixed before our next trip, but it’s still $10 cheaper than what it would cost if I ordered it on Amazon.ca.

Thanks for the tip, Lou!

[Herk7769]

Glad I could help!

[itat]

Lou, can you please post a picture of the fixed ball stud installation. I ordered the ones you provided a link to and received them yesterday. I had to pay for expedited shipping because I need to get the replacement installed by Thursday this coming week. We're heading out on Friday for a family camping weekend with my DW's family.

BTW, I emailed MORryde on this failure and the rep replied that they had a run of steps that had the ball stud over-torqued around the time my 5er was built (April 2018). I don't know if that explanation is true or not but I suppose it's plausible. They are going to send me a replacement ball stud (I asked for more than one), but I can't wait for them to ship it out and get it up here. I'll compare what they send to the ones I bought on Amazon.com.

[Herk7769]

I remembered that I needed to chase the threads on the Amazon ones to fit the female socket correctly.

The one supplied by the manufacturer bolted right up.

This photo is the best I can do. I see I put both washers on the frame side of the junction. I think I did that so that there would be more support on the side that contacts the upright. (Or I just screwed it up).

[B and B]

Good thread.

I have the MoreRyde on my Landmark as well. Good to know the ball joint goes bad. These would be same as the ones on hatch backs. Can Tire, or NAPA or Orielly would stock these as a walk up too.

I also had a Rivet go loose on the top, not fully compressed. I installed bolts and nuts on Friday to get by. Calling MoreRyde to get some spares to replace.

[itat]

I’m fixing mine this morning. Here’s a picture of the male and female ball studs I removed.





The bottom one broke and the top one bent as I was removing it because the struts are so strong. Have to put the replacements in with the steps in the stored position which means you need someone outside to put the steps up. At least I can’t lift them from inside and my arms won’t fit around the steps to be able to put them together from outside.